Top 46 recipies of Russian food

1. Chak-chak

Small pieces of crispy dough generously soaked in sweet honey syrup are traditional Tatar cookies called chak-chak. In Tatar, “chak-chak” means “small change”.

Ingredients for 3-4 servings:

– wheat flour — 400 g;

– eggs — 4 pcs.;

– sugar — 2 tbsp.;

– milk — 50 ml;

– baking powder — 1 tbsp.;

– vegetable oil for frying — 400 ml;

– butter — 10 g;

– honey for syrup — 100 g;

– sugar for syrup — 100 g;

– water for syrup — 50 ml.

Preparation:

Break eggs into a deep bowl, pour in milk, add baking powder and sugar. Mix the mixture thoroughly with a whisk.

Add sifted flour and knead elastic dough. Wrap the dough in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Divide the cooled dough into three equal parts, roll each into a thin layer. Cut the layer into four strips: first in half, then each half in half again. Cut the resulting strips across into small pieces.

Boil vegetable oil in a saucepan, fry the pieces of dough until golden brown and place on a paper towel.

Cook the syrup: mix honey, sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat until smooth. Combine the resulting syrup with the fried dough.

Cover the baking dish with parchment greased with butter. Place the future chak-chak on the parchment in the dish and lightly tamp.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to soak and harden.

2. Pozharsky Cutlets

Chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs appeared in Russian cuisine at the beginning of the 19th century: they were cooked in the tavern of Evdokim Pozharsky in Torzhok (Tver region), and popular rumors instantly spread laudatory reviews throughout the country. Even Emperor Nicholas I liked them!

Ingredients:

Chicken fillet 400 gr.

Chicken thigh 600 gr.

Onion 1 pc.

Butter 100 gr.

Vegetable oil 200 ml.

Chicken egg 2 pcs.

Cow’s milk 2 tbsp.

Salt 1 tsp.

Ground black pepper ½ tsp.

Loaf 1 pc.

Preparation:

Take the chicken meat and rinse it under running warm water. Put it on a paper towel and wipe it thoroughly. Tip: carefully inspect the meat. Pieces of a damp towel may stick to it. Remove the meat from the bone, remove excess skin. Twist both pieces through a meat grinder into a deep bowl.

Peel the onion, chop finely, put it in a frying pan (it must be heated over low heat with a small amount of vegetable oil). Stir the onion constantly until it turns golden brown.

Add salt, pepper, and butter to the prepared mince.

Tip: take the butter out of the refrigerator in advance so that it defrosts a little and becomes softer. Place the prepared onion in a bowl. Mix the ingredients. To make the cutlets juicier, beat the resulting mass. Put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

While the meat is infusing in the refrigerator, start making the croutons. Take a loaf of bread and cut it into small cubes. Take the baking sheet out of the oven, cover it with parchment paper, and try to lay the loaf cubes on it as evenly as possible (the oven should be preheated to 150 degrees). Simmer the cubes for 10 minutes.

Take a bowl. Beat the eggs in there. Then pour in the milk. Mix well with a spoon or whisk. We start to mold the cutlets, not forgetting to wet our hands in the prepared liquid each time.

In parallel with the formation of the cutlets, heat up the frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. When everything is ready for cooking, dip each piece in the egg-milk mixture, then dip in breadcrumbs and roll. Place the cutlets in the frying pan and fry (each side for about 2 minutes).

For complete readiness, the cutlets need to be simmered in the oven for 15 minutes (preheat to 180 degrees). Take a baking sheet, lay out parchment paper, lay out the almost ready cutlets. Enjoy your meal!

3. Cottage cheese casserole

A delicate cottage cheese casserole with raisins is one of the healthiest desserts in Russian cuisine. When combined with sour cream or homemade jam, it turns into a real gastronomic pleasure.

Ingredients:

300 g cottage cheese, 3 tbsp sour cream, a pinch of soda, 1 egg, 50 g sugar, 1 tbsp semolina, a pinch of salt, 10 g butter, 1 tbsp powdered sugar.

Preparation:

Rub the cottage cheese through a sieve, add sour cream, soda, beaten egg, sugar, semolina and salt. Put the mixture in a greased form and cook for 30 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees. Sprinkle the finished casserole with powdered sugar.

4. Charlotte

The popular apple pie is a folk version of the dessert “Charlotte Russe”, invented by the French chef of Emperor Alexander I. Initially, it was a pie with cream and whipped cream, which was then transformed into a regular sponge cake with apple filling. But even a child can handle the recipe!

Ingredients:

– flour — 1 cup;

– sugar — 1 cup;

– eggs — 3 pcs.;

– apples — 3–4 pcs.;

– vanillin (vanilla sugar) — to taste;

– baking soda — a pinch.

Preparation:

Beat eggs into a mixer bowl, add sugar. Beat with a mixer first at medium, then at high speed until you get a light yellow mass of uniform consistency.

Add flour to the sweet egg mixture, previously sifted through a fine sieve with a pinch of soda and vanillin (vanilla sugar). Beat again with a mixer. The charlotte dough is ready.

Wash the apples and cut each in half. Remove the cores with seeds. Peel the pulp and cut into small cubes or slices of any shape.

Add the apples to the charlotte dough and mix carefully. Pour the resulting mixture into a form greased with any fat and place in the oven, preheated to 190 °C, for 30 minutes.

5. Sochnik

It would seem that this is just shortcrust pastry with cottage cheese filling, but how delicious! The name comes from the word “juice”, since in the old Russian recipe there was juice in the dough.

Ingredients:

butter – 70 g;

sour cream – 125 g;

wheat flour – 425 g;

sugar – 250 g;

salt – a pinch;

chicken egg – 2 pieces;

soda – 1 teaspoon;

cottage cheese – 150 g.

Preparation:

Beat 1100 g of sour cream with 200 g of sugar until it is completely dissolved. Add one egg, softened butter and salt, mix until smooth.

Sift 400 g of flour with soda and gradually mix it into the sour cream mixture, leaving about a quarter of the flour for later.

Transfer the dough to the table and knead it, adding the remaining flour. Cover with film and leave while preparing the filling.

For the filling, beat the egg white with 50 g of sugar until stiff peaks form. Mix the egg whites with the cottage cheese, adding a tablespoon of sour cream and flour.

Roll out part of the dough into a layer about 3 mm thick. Cut out circles with a diameter of 8-10 cm.

Put a little filling on half of each circle, cover with the other half so that the filling peeks out. Pinch the edges a little (only near the fold of the dough).

Transfer the sochniki to a baking sheet, grease them with yolk and put them in the oven, preheated to 180 ° C, for 20-25 minutes.

6. Smetannik

Sponge cake layers, cooked with sour cream and soaked with sour cream, form the basis of this classic cake of Russian cuisine. Each pastry chef decorates it in his own way, so there is a huge scope for creativity here.

Ingredients:

– condensed milk — 1 can; 2

– sugar — 100 g; 2

– wheat flour — 8 tablespoons; 2

– butter — 100 g; 2

– 20% sour cream — ½ kg; 2

– cocoa — 1 tablespoon; 2

– soda — 1 teaspoon; 2

– chicken eggs — 2 pieces; 2

– vinegar — 1 teaspoon. 2

Preparation:

Whip room temperature butter with eggs. Add condensed milk and whisk.

Sift flour, extinguish soda with vinegar and add to the dough, mix thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease molds with butter, bake 2 cakes until done (about 20 minutes).

Prepare the cake cream: lightly beat the sour cream and sugar.

Cut the finished cakes into 2 parts and cut off the sides. Pierce all the cakes of the sour cream cake, except for the bottom one, with a fork so that they absorb the cream better.

Coat all the cakes with cream and lay them out in the form of a cake. Coat the sides of the cake with cream too.

Chop the cake trimmings into crumbs and sprinkle them on the sour cream cake.

Put the cake in the refrigerator to soak overnight.

7. Rassolnik

Its base is pickled cucumbers. The brine gives the soup a pleasant sourness. In addition, cereals (usually pearl barley), a little potato and pieces of meat are added to the broth. The two most famous versions of rassolnik are called Moscow and Leningrad. The difference is that Leningrad is made from beef broth, and Moscow is made from chicken broth.

Ingredients:

– veal — 300–400 grams;

– pearl barley — 1 cup (150 ml);

– pickled cucumber — 3 pieces;

– onion — 1 piece;

– carrot — 1 piece;

– potatoes — 3 pieces;

– vegetable oil — 3–4 tablespoons;

– salt — to taste;

– spices — to taste (bay leaf, peppercorns);

– dill — 1 bunch;

– water — 2.5 liters.

Preparation:

Carefully sort out and wash the pearl barley, the meat also needs to be washed under running water.

Add spices, salt, water and cook the meat and pearl barley until tender (this will take 1.5 hours).

Make a dressing for the rassolnik: cut cucumbers and carrots into strips, chop the onion finely.

First fry the onion and carrot in vegetable oil until half-cooked, then add the cucumbers and fry until done.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into thin strips, add to the soup. Boil for 10 minutes.

Season the soup with fried cucumbers with vegetables and finely chopped fresh dill, boil for a minute.

Remove the soup from the heat, let it sit for 30-35 minutes. Serve.

8. Chicken Kiev

Culinary historians believe that chicken Kiev was invented in the early 20th century (in Moscow or St. Petersburg), and was later renamed by Soviet restaurants. The recipe has not changed since Soviet times: it is a breaded chicken cutlet with butter and herbs wrapped inside.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

– 4 chicken breast fillets;

– 180 g butter;

– 5–6 sprigs of parsley;

– 2–3 eggs;

– 50 g flour;

– 20 g breadcrumbs;

– salt;

– freshly ground black pepper.

Preparation:

Cut the butter into 4 pieces and put in the freezer.

Place the chicken fillets on a work surface, separate the small fillets and set aside, you will need them later.

Starting with the thick part, carefully trim the fillets and open them like a book.

Cover the fillets with cling film and beat until evenly thick. Salt and pepper a little on all sides.

Separate the parsley leaves from the stems and chop very finely. Take out the butter and roll in the parsley.

Place the pieces of butter in the center of the fillet, cover with a small fillet on top. Roll the cutlet, carefully tucking all the corners inward (like a cabbage roll) so that the butter does not leak out. You should get a compact, elongated cutlet.

Wrap each cutlet in cling film – this way the cutlet will keep its shape. Put it in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Pour flour and breadcrumbs into plates. Break the eggs into a plate and beat lightly. Pat the cutlets dry with paper towels. Dip the cutlet in flour on all sides, shake off the excess, then dip it in the egg, shake it off, roll it in breadcrumbs. Then dip it in the egg and breadcrumbs again. Place the cutlets on a plate and put them in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan or deep fryer until bubbles begin to form on the surface. Fry the patties on all sides until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully transfer to a baking sheet and finish cooking in the oven, 10 to 12 minutes.

9. Curd Ring

There are many desserts with curd in Russian cuisine, but this one is the most elegant. The choux pastry cake with sweet filling was on the royal table back in the 19th century, but it became available to a wide range of gourmets only in the Soviet years.

Ingredients:

Cottage cheese with 5-9% fat content – 200 g

Flour – 160 g + for working with dough

Egg – 1 pc.

Sugar – 30 g

Salt – 0.5 tsp

Soda – 0.5 tsp

Vegetable oil for frying – 1-1.5 tbsp

Icing sugar for serving – 1-2 tsp

Prepare the ingredients. Rub the grainy cottage cheese through a sieve or grind it with a blender.

Combine the cottage cheese, egg, salt and sugar.

Mix everything thoroughly.

Measure out 160 g of flour (this is 1 glass with a volume of 250 ml). Add soda to the flour and mix. Sift the flour and soda into a container with the curd mass.

Mix everything well again and, kneading the mass with your hands, form a ball of smooth dough.

Sprinkle the work surface with flour. Lay out the prepared dough and roll it out to a thickness of about 0.5-0.7 cm. I divide the dough in half and work with each part in turn.

Cut out rings from the dough. I use a glass with a diameter of 8 cm (outer diameter) as a form for cutting out and a shot glass with a diameter of 5 cm for cutting out the center of the ring.

Heat the frying pan on a fire slightly below medium and grease with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Lay out the curd rings and fry for 2.5-3 minutes on one side. During the frying process, the dough will rise slightly, and the rings will become a little higher and fluffier.

When the curd rings are browned on one side, turn them over and fry for about 3 more minutes on the other side, until golden brown.

Place the fried curd rings on paper towels for a few seconds to blot off excess oil. Repeat the process with the remaining dough. I get about 25 curd rings.

Sprinkle warm curd rings with powdered sugar and serve.

10. Pirozhki

Small pirozhki with savory filling were traditionally eaten with soups and stews, and sweet ones are good with hot drinks. The most popular fillings are cabbage, minced meat, mashed potatoes with mushrooms, rice with egg, berries, apples.

For the dough:

• 4 cups flour;
• 200 ml water;
• 200 ml boiling water;
• 2 tsp dry yeast;
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil;
• 1 tbsp sugar;
• 5 tsp salt.

For the filling:

• 1 kg potatoes;
• 200 g onions;
• 1 carrot;

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes until tender and mash into a puree.

Finely chop the onion and carrot, fry and mix with the potatoes. Season the filling.

Dissolve the yeast, salt and sugar in warm water. Leave the dough for 10 minutes.

Add oil and mix the dough with the sifted flour. While kneading the dough, pour in boiling water and continue kneading.

Leave the dough in a warm place for 1 hour, divide into parts, stretch them into flat cakes and put the filling on each.

Pinch the edges, flatten the pies and fry them in a frying pan on both sides for 5-7 minutes.

11. Vatrushka

Historians still can’t decide how this word appeared in Russian cuisine and what it means. But since time immemorial, this sweet bun with cottage cheese or jam has taken us back to childhood.

Ingredients for the dough:

– kefir (2.5%) — 250 ml;

– dry yeast — 6 g;

– sugar — 80 g;

– salt — 1/3 tsp;

– eggs — 2 pcs.;

– vegetable oil — 50 ml;

– flour — 520–550 g.

Ingredients for the filling:

– cottage cheese — 400 g;

– sugar — 80 g;

– egg — 1 pc.;

– vanilla.

For greasing:

– yolk — 1 pc.,

– milk — 1 tbsp.

Preparation:

For the dough, mix kefir, yeast, sugar, salt, eggs, vegetable oil and flour.

For the filling, mix cottage cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla.

Knead the dough and divide it into small pieces.

Roll each piece into a circle, make a depression in the center and put the filling in it.

Place the vatrushki on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Let them sit for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C and bake the vatrushki for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

For greasing, mix the yolk and milk. Carefully grease the vatrushki with a silicone brush.

12. Cheburek

The signature dish of Crimean Tatar cuisine and the main street food of any Black Sea resort. It is a kind of pie made of thin dough with meat filling, fried in oil.

Ingredients:

– flour – 250 g;

– water (boiling water) – 120 ml;

– refined vegetable oil – 2 tbsp.;

– salt – 0.5 tsp.

Ingredients for the filling:

– pork – 150 g;

– beef – 150 g;

– onion – 1 pc. (80 g);

– cold water – 50-60 ml (depending on the original fat content and juiciness of the minced meat);

– salt – to taste;

– black pepper – to taste.

Preparation:

Add salt and vegetable oil to boiling water. Pour the mixture into the flour and knead the dough with a spoon. When the dough has cooled slightly, knead it with your hands for 5-6 minutes. Place the dough in cling film or a bag and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Mixed mince is tastier than mince from one type of meat, so you can use pork and beef. Mince the meat. You can also mince the onion or chop it very finely with a knife.

Add water to the mince for juiciness.

Divide the dough into 8 parts. Roll out a very thin flatbread with a diameter of 24 cm.

Put a heaping tablespoon of mince on one half, distribute, leaving 1.5 cm from the edges.

Cover with the second part of the flatbread, release the air. Very carefully connect the edges. Trim the edges evenly with a pizza knife or a plate.

Fry in a large amount of vegetable oil over moderate heat until golden brown on each side. Place the finished chebureki on paper towels to absorb excess fat.

13. Golubtsy

The hardest part of making these “cabbage rolls,” as foreigners call them, is the process of wrapping the minced meat and rice in a cabbage leaf. However, there is a lazy option, where all the ingredients are simply stewed together in a frying pan.

Ingredients:

White cabbage — 1.4 kg;

Minced meat — 500 g (pork and beef);

Water — 1 l;

Sour cream — 130 g (20%);

Tomato paste — 100 g;

Tomato — 300 g;

Carrots — 100 g;

Onions — 150 g;

Greens — 20 g;

Salt — to taste;

Black pepper — ground to taste;

Rice — 100 g.

Preparation:

Rinse the cabbage under cold running water. Remove the outer leaves if necessary. Cut out the head of cabbage. Boil water in a large saucepan or cauldron. Carefully lower the head of cabbage. Stick a fork in the center and, holding the cabbage, separate the top leaves. Cook the leaves for about 5 minutes. Remove the boiled leaves from the boiling water. Separate the leaves at the base again and repeat until you have taken apart the entire head.

Rinse the rice, changing the water several times. Transfer to a saucepan. Pour in cold water (250 ml), add a little salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Then turn off the heat. Cover and leave for another 10-15 minutes.

Transfer all the boiled cabbage leaves to a container with cold water to stop the thermal process. Trim the thickening in the center of each leaf.

Peel and wash the onion and carrot. Dice the onion. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater. Place the prepared vegetables in a frying pan with heated vegetable oil. Fry over low heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring until the vegetables are soft.

For the filling, combine sour cream of any fat content, tomato paste and water. Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.

Transfer the minced meat to a deep bowl. Stir the swollen rice. Add to the minced meat.

Add the fried vegetables to the minced meat.

Wash and dry the tomatoes. Cut in half and grate on a coarse grater, discarding the skins. Add the chopped tomatoes to the filling.

Wash and dry the greens. Chop finely, removing the stems. Add to the minced meat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pick a 4-liter saucepan. Add the remaining chopped cabbage leaves to the bottom.

Place a portion of meat filling on the narrow edge of the sheet. Roll into rolls, tucking in the sides so that

14. Churchkhela

A string of nuts in frozen grape or pomegranate juice is perhaps the most famous dessert that can be tried at the southern resorts of Russia. Churchkhela has Georgian roots and became very popular in the USSR, when the country’s residents began to vacation en masse on the Black Sea coast.

Ingredients:

• freshly squeezed grape juice — 1 liter;
• hazelnuts or walnuts — 1 kg (10 nuts per thread);
• corn flour — 2 tbsp;
• corn starch — to taste (if especially needed).

Preparation:

Add corn flour to the finished grape juice. Cook the resulting mixture over low heat until thickened. If the juice does not thicken for a long time, add a little more flour and a spoonful of food starch.

Heat the nuts over medium heat in a frying pan for 8-10 minutes, then cool. Take a thick thread and use a needle to string the nuts: hazelnuts or walnuts. The thread should be 20-25 centimeters long, and the first nut is strung at a distance of 4-5 cm from the end of the thread. You need to string about 10 nuts on each thread.

Dip the nuts on the thread in the resulting mass and hang in a convenient place. Leave until the mass dries.

After a few hours, repeat the same procedure, and so on until the layer on top of the nuts reaches 2 cm. The drying process itself lasts about a week or two, it all depends on what layer of juice is applied.

15. Glazed curds

Chocolate-glazed curds appeared in the USSR in the 1930s. In addition to cottage cheese, butter, salt, sugar and other fruit fillings are added to them for taste. The chocolate glaze makes them similar to the beloved Soviet ice cream “Eskimo”.

Ingredients:

Cottage cheese — 200 g,

Butter — 30 g,

Powdered sugar — 30 g,

Milk chocolate — 140 g.

Cooking process:

Mix cottage cheese, well-softened, but not melted, butter and powdered sugar.

Beat these products with a blender — you should get a homogeneous curd mass.

Place the pieces of milk chocolate in a bowl and melt in the microwave or in a water bath.

Grease the walls and bottoms of silicone muffin molds with a thin layer of chocolate. It is convenient to use a brush for this.

Put the molds in the freezer for 5-7 minutes. Then take them out and cover the walls and bottoms with a second layer of chocolate, put them in the freezer again for 5 minutes.

Take out the molds, put the curd mass in each, smoothing the surface. If by this point the remaining chocolate has hardened, melt it again and pour or grease the surface of each curd.

Put the curds in the refrigerator (this time in the refrigerator, not in the freezer – the curd filling should not freeze).

In about an hour, the dessert can be released from the molds. This is done in an elementary way – the hardened chocolate is easily released from the silicone.

16. Cutlets with mashed potatoes

The cutlets that were served in Soviet canteens had a very delicate taste and a different consistency than homemade ones. And the whole secret was in the bread: it was added to save on meat (the mince was beef and pork), but it turned out pretty good. The side dish was mashed potatoes with milk. For many Russians, even today, it is the best lunch of all time!

Ingredients:

• potatoes — 500–600 g;
• egg yolks — 2 pcs.;
• butter — 30 g;
• salt and ground black pepper — to taste;
• vegetable oil for frying — 50 ml.

Preparation:

Boil the peeled potatoes in lightly salted water — 20–30 minutes, until tender.

Using a masher, mash the potatoes into a puree.

Add butter, yolks, salt, black pepper and mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle with flour, roll the puree into a roll and cut into flat patties.

Form round or semi-circular patties and apply a pattern with a lattice object.

Heat a frying pan with oil, place the potato patties and fry briefly on both sides until golden brown.

Serve the patties, preferably warm.

17. Manna

A simple and quick to prepare pie made from semolina and kefir. Due to the semolina, it turns out tender and airy. You can add some jam on top or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Ingredients for 8 servings:

– semolina – 1 cup;

– wheat flour – 1 cup;

– kefir – 1 cup;

– sugar – 1 cup;

– chicken eggs – 2 pieces;

– baking powder – ½ teaspoon;

– salt – a pinch.

Preparation:

Pour kefir over the semolina, stir and leave to swell for 30 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs with a mixer until foam forms.

Pour sugar into the mixer bowl and continue beating until fluffy foam.

Combine the soaked semolina with eggs and mix thoroughly with a silicone spatula.

Add vanilla extract, stir.

Sift flour and baking powder, mix with the mass until smooth.

Grease the baking dish well with butter.

Pour the semolina dough into the pan and put it in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for 30 minutes.

To check if the manna is ready, pierce it with a wooden skewer or toothpick: if it comes out dry, then the manna is ready.

Sprinkle the manna with powdered sugar or pour melted chocolate over it.

18. Nevsky Pie

This pie instantly captivates with its airy dough and cream made from butter and condensed milk. Outwardly, it resembles the “Boston” without chocolate, but the recipes differ in dough and cream.

Ingredients:

– Flour 0.85 kg

– Butter 200 grams

– Eggs 2 pieces

– Condensed milk 85 grams

– Margarine 200 grams

– Salt 0.5 teaspoon

– Granulated sugar 235 grams

– Powdered sugar 115 grams

– Vanilla extract To taste

– Yeast 42 grams

– Water 425 ml

– Cognac 25 grams

Preparation:

Heat 210 milliliters of water, then pour into a container and add yeast. Stir and leave for 5-7 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat the chicken eggs, add powdered sugar (70 grams) and beat lightly. Add softened margarine, stir.

Sift the flour, add salt and stir.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour, then the egg mixture. Add vanilla extract and the remaining water, knead the dough. Sprinkle with flour, cover with film and leave for 1 hour, then knead with your hands and leave for another 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 2 parts, form balls and leave for 20 minutes, then place them in a baking dish and leave for another 1 hour.

Brush the pie with hot water and put in an oven preheated to 170 degrees for 45 minutes.

Pour 0.5 cups of water into a saucepan, add sugar and put on the fire. Heat until the sugar dissolves, then remove from heat and pour in the cognac. Beat the butter with the remaining powdered sugar, add condensed milk.

Cut each pie into 2 layers and cool, then soak each layer with sugar syrup. Grease the cakes with butter cream and try it!

19. Meat in French

This dish is known throughout the world as meat or pork “Orlov style” in honor of Count Alexei Orlov. It is the count’s French chef who is considered the creator of this dish. And only in Russia is meat (pork or beef), baked under a layer of potatoes and onions with béchamel sauce and a cheese crust, called “meat in French”.

Ingredients:

– pork — 800 g;

– potatoes — 1 kg;

– onions — 200 g (1–2 pcs.);

– cheese — 300 g;

– mayonnaise — 150 g;

– salt and black pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Peel, wash and slice the potatoes into 3–5 mm thick slices.

Peel and slice the onion into thin half rings or rings.

Wash the pork and cut into slices about 1 cm thick. Beat each piece of meat.

Grate the cheese on a coarse grater.

Spread the potatoes evenly on a baking sheet and add salt.

Put the beaten meat on top, add salt and pepper.

Put the chopped onion on top.

Cover with a thin layer of mayonnaise.

Sprinkle with grated cheese on top.

Place the baking tray in the oven preheated to 180 °C for 45 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, move the baking tray up so that the cheese bakes more and gets a beautiful golden crust.

Check the readiness: the potatoes should be soft.

Cut the meat in French into portions, carefully arrange on plates, trying to lift all the layers at once with a spatula and not to disturb their integrity. When serving, you can sprinkle finely chopped fresh herbs on top.

20. Bushe

Despite its French name, “Bushe” is a purely Soviet pastry. It consists of two small sponge cakes with a creamy layer, covered with chocolate glaze.

Ingredients for the sponge cake:

– eggs — 4 pcs.;

– sugar — 120 g;

– flour — 120 g;

– vanilla sugar — 10 g.

For the cream:

– butter — 200 g;

– powdered sugar — 150 g;

– condensed milk — 100 g;

– vanilla extract — 1 tsp.

For the glaze:

– chocolate — 100 g;

– butter — 50 g.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Separate the whites from the yolks. Beat the whites until stiff peaks form, gradually adding sugar and vanilla sugar.

Add the yolks one at a time, continuing to beat at low speed.

Gently stir in the sifted flour, trying to keep the dough airy.

Place the dough in a pastry bag and pipe circles about 5 cm in diameter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake the biscuits for 10–12 minutes until lightly golden, cool.

Beat the butter until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating until smooth.

Pour in the condensed milk and vanilla extract, beat until creamy.

Apply the cream to one side of each biscuit and pair them together. Cool the cakes in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to stabilize the cream.

Melt the chocolate in a water bath or microwave, add the butter and mix until smooth.

Dip the tops of the cakes into the glaze and let it harden.

21. Kefir

Every Russian knows from childhood that this fermented milk drink from the Caucasus is very healthy. By the way, kefir can also be used for cosmetic purposes.

Boil a liter of homemade milk and cool it to 40 degrees. If you don’t have any milk, take store-bought milk and heat it, but don’t boil it.

Add 6 tbsp. of kefir to the cooled milk. The first time you can use store-bought kefir as a starter, and the next time, leave a little homemade.

Mix the milk and starter well, cover with a lid. Leave in the kitchen for 10 hours or overnight. The room should not be cold – this is an important condition for fermentation.

Then put the kefir in the refrigerator. In a couple of hours, the drink will be ready.

22. Donuts

Flour products in the form of a circle, fried in oil. Sprinkled with powdered sugar and with a hole inside, in Russia they are also called pyshki – they have become almost a calling card of St. Petersburg. Another type of popular donuts is in the form of a fluffy bun, sometimes with a filling inside.

Ingredients:

– warm milk — 200 ml;

– warm water — 100 ml;

– dry yeast — 11 g;

– sugar — 1 tbsp;

– salt and butter — 1 tsp each;

– egg — 1 pc.;

– about 4–4.5 cups flour.

Preparation:

Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water, leave for 10 minutes until foam appears.

Pour in warm milk and vegetable oil, add flour in parts and knead the dough.

Add salt, stir in the remaining flour, working well with the mass so that it is kneaded and turns into a soft dough.

Stir in softened butter.

Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.

Knead the dough, divide into portions, roll into balls, cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Roll each ball inside to make a hole.

Fry the donuts in vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown.

Place on a plate, when cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

23. Honey Cake

One of the most popular homemade cakes in the entire post-Soviet space consists of several aromatic honey cakes and sour cream. According to legend, it was invented by the pastry chef of Empress Elizabeth Alexeyevna.

Ingredients:

– flour — 200 g;

– honey — 80–100 g;

– butter — 100 g;

– chicken eggs — 3 pcs.;

– sugar — 100 g;

– soda — 1 tsp;

– salt — a pinch;

– sour cream 20% fat — 400 g;

– powdered sugar — 1 tbsp.

Preparation:

Turn on the oven to 160 °C.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the honey, add the soda and, stirring continuously, bring to a light caramel shade. This will take 1.5–2 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the stove, add the butter and, watching how it completely melts in the honey mixture, beat the eggs with a mixer. Beat the eggs for 5 minutes at maximum speed, gradually adding sugar and a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor.

During this time, the honey and butter mixture should cool. If it seems that it is not enough, wait a couple more minutes and add it to the beaten eggs.

Mix the resulting mass thoroughly with a wooden or silicone spatula, gradually adding sifted flour to it.

Cover the baking sheet or baking pan with parchment paper and pour half of the resulting homogeneous mixture. Carefully level it with a spatula over the entire surface.

Bake at 160 ° C for 6-8 minutes until done. Baking time depends on the thickness of the dough layer. Do the same with the second half of the dough.

Trim the edges of the finished cakes and chop them in any way. Punch with a blender, crush in a mortar or roll with a rolling pin. The crumbs will be needed to decorate the cake and give the honey cake a finished shape.

Prepare the cream. Mix sour cream with powdered sugar.

Spread the cooled cakes layer by layer with sour cream. Spread the cream on the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle with crumbs on all sides.

Let the honey cake soak for three to four hours.

24. Potato Cake

A cake made from cookies, cocoa and condensed milk is one of the easiest to make. It is also a very tasty way to use up biscuit scraps.

Ingredients:

– shortbread cookies — 600 grams;

– condensed milk — 1 can;

– butter — 200 grams;

– cocoa powder — 3 tbsp;

– vanillin — 1 packet.

Preparation:

Crush the cookies using a blender, rolling pin or mortar.

Rub the soft butter with condensed milk until smooth.

Add the crushed cookies and vanillin to the resulting cream. Mix the mixture well; it should be quite thick and viscous.

Form oblong potato-shaped cakes from the sweet mass.

Roll each cake in cocoa.

Lightly fry the walnuts in a frying pan, chop and decorate the cakes with them.

Place the finished cakes in the refrigerator until completely cooled, then serve.

25. Solyanka in a frying pan

A hearty dish with Lithuanian roots quickly became popular in the Soviet army. Now you can find it in canteens and in home rations. Solyanka or bigus consists of cabbage stewed with meat, sausages, fish or mushrooms.

Ingredients:

– pork (brisket) – 400 grams;

– carrots – 1 piece;

– olives – 7 pieces (pitted);

– greens – to taste;

– fresh white cabbage – 600 grams;

– salt – to taste;

– vegetable oil – 2 tablespoons;

– onions – 1 piece;

– sauerkraut brine – 100 milliliters;

– sauerkraut – 300 grams;

– pickled cucumber – 80 grams;

– bay leaf – 1 piece;

– black pepper – to taste;

– pickled mushrooms – 70 grams.

Preparation:

Wash the vegetables and peel if necessary. Squeeze the sauerkraut to remove the brine, cut the white cabbage into thin strips.

Rinse the pork belly, dry it and cut it into pieces.

Heat the frying pan over medium heat and put the meat in.

Add finely chopped onions, cut the carrots into strips, pour in the brine and simmer everything for five minutes over medium heat.

Add the sauerkraut and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring.

Add the white cabbage, bay leaf, pickled mushrooms, olives and sliced ​​cucumbers. Mix everything and simmer until the vegetables are ready, about 10-15 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan with a lid and remove from the heat. Let stand for 15 minutes and serve.

26. Nuts with boiled condensed milk

To make these cookies you need baking molds or a special frying pan with nut-shaped indentations. First, the halves are baked, then boiled condensed milk is added to each, and they are combined.

Ingredients:

– eggs — 2 pcs.;

– flour — 450–480 g (check consistency);

– sugar — 140 g;

– butter — 180 g;

– baking powder — 2 tsp;

– salt — a pinch;

– a can of boiled condensed milk.

Preparation:

Whip eggs with salt and sugar until fluffy. Add melted and cooled butter, beat again.

Add flour and thoroughly knead the shortcrust pastry, bringing the mixture to a homogeneous thick mass. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.

Grease the mold a little with vegetable oil and put a ball in each cell.

Bake the halves on each side for 2 minutes until golden brown. Cool the nut “shells”.

Fill each half of the resulting nuts tightly with boiled condensed milk and connect them together. Put them in the refrigerator for at least 7 hours.

27. Cake “Prague”

One of the most popular Russian cakes, created back in the 1960s by Vladimir Guralnik. In his youth, he studied confectionery in the capital of Czechoslovakia and dedicated his cake to this city. It consists of layers of chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam and chocolate butter cream. All this splendor is covered with chocolate glaze.

Ingredients for 8 servings:

For the biscuit: flour – 115 g, sugar – 150 g, eggs C0 – 6 pcs., butter – 40 g + a little more for the form, cocoa powder – 35 g, vanilla sugar – 10 g, salt – on the tip of a knife.

For the glaze: dark chocolate (at least 72% cocoa content) – 100 g, butter – 100 g.

For the cream: butter – 400 g, condensed milk with sugar – 240 g, egg yolks C0 – 2 pcs., cocoa powder – 30 g, vanilla sugar – 10 g, drinking water – 50 ml, rum or cognac – 1 tsp.

For the coating: apricot jam – 120 g.

For impregnation: sugar – 100 g, drinking water – 100 ml, rum or cognac – 1 tbsp.

Preparation:

Prepare the dough for the cakes. Melt the butter and let cool. Separate the whites from the yolks. Beat with a mixer until stiff. Then add salt, vanilla sugar and half of the regular sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form.

Beat the yolks with a mixer for 4 minutes at high speed (they should become light). Add the remaining sugar. Beat until a fluffy mass of uniform consistency is obtained.

Sift the flour together with the cocoa powder. Add the whipped whites to the yolks. Mix with a silicone spatula. Gradually, while mixing, add the flour mixture in several stages. Pour in the cooled melted butter. The dough for the Prague cake layers is ready.

Heat the oven to 175°C. Place the dough in 2 springform pans with a diameter of 20 cm, lightly greased with butter. Bake for about 18–20 minutes (check readiness with a wooden skewer). Let cool first in the pan (10 minutes), then on a wire rack. Wrap each sponge cake in cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare the cream for the Prague cake. Cut the butter into small cubes and leave at room temperature for 30-40 minutes until soft. In a small bowl, whisk the yolks, water and vanilla sugar. Pour the condensed milk into a thick-bottomed saucepan. Add the yolk mixture and stir. Place on low heat.

Cook the base of the Prague cream, whisking constantly, until thickened (large bubbles will appear on the surface). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, covering with cling film so that it is in contact with the surface. Rub the base of the cream through a sieve.

Prepare the impregnation. Pour the sugar into a ladle and fill with water. Bring to a boil, cook for 1 minute. Let cool. Add cognac or rum, stir.

Finish preparing the cream for the Prague cake. Beat the butter with a mixer (5-7 minutes) until it becomes a light cream. Add cocoa powder. Stir. Gradually, 2 tablespoons at a time, add the cream base of the yolks and condensed milk. Beat thoroughly after each portion. Pour in the cognac or rum. Beat again with a mixer.

Remove the cake layers and cut each one in half lengthwise. Soak with syrup, greasing with a culinary brush. Place one cake layer on a plate. Cover with a thick layer of cream, smoothing it out with a pastry spatula. Place the remaining cake layers, pressing lightly. Grease each one, except the top one, with cream. Put in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat the jam. Cover the top and sides of the cake with it.

28. Pancakes

Unlike blini, pancakes have a small diameter and a fluffier texture. They are baked from wheat flour with the addition of yeast. Serve with sour cream or jam.

Ingredients:

– 1 cup flour;

– 2 tablespoons sugar;

– 1 teaspoon baking powder;

– 1/4 teaspoon salt;

– 1 egg;

– 3/4 cup milk;

– 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract;

– 100 grams dark chocolate (you can use drops or small pieces);

– 2 tablespoons cream (liquid);

– 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup (optional);

– berries (for decoration, optional).

Method:

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg, add milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Gradually pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring constantly until you have a smooth batter.

Add the violet syrup (or violet extract) to the batter and mix thoroughly to distribute the colour and flavour evenly.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. It is best to use an electric frying pan or an induction hob, setting the temperature to medium, approximately 150 to 180 degrees Celsius.

Apply a small amount of vegetable oil to the pan and spread it evenly.

Pour a small portion of the batter into the pan to make a pancake about 5 cm in diameter. Fry the pancakes until golden brown on both sides. This usually takes about 2-3 minutes per side.

Transfer the finished pancakes to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding a little oil before each batch.

Once all the pancakes are cooked, let them cool slightly before decorating.

Break the dark chocolate into small pieces or use chocolate chips. This will help the chocolate melt more easily and create a smooth texture.

Combine the cream and honey (or maple syrup) in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until hot but not boiling. Stir occasionally.

While the chocolate is still soft, use the back of a spoon or other tool to add texture and relief to the trunk, creating the illusion of natural tree bark. You can draw vertical lines, loops, or even add small ridges to give the trunk a more realistic look.

Once the chocolate has set, add the final touch by decorating the top of the pancakes with fresh berries. You can surround the top of the pancakes with berries to create the effect of a lush, blooming forest.

To emphasize the magical atmosphere and add a little fairy dust, sprinkle the top of the pancakes with a light layer of powdered sugar.

29. Vareniki

The closest relatives of pelmeni. They differ in filling (most often they are prepared with cottage cheese, berries, potatoes or mushrooms), as well as shape. Vareniki can also be with meat, but it is pre-boiled and only then put into the dough (raw minced meat is used for pelmeni).

Ingredients:

– Cottage cheese — 250 g;

– Granulated sugar — 1.5 tbsp;

– Chicken egg — 1 pc.;

– Wheat flour — ½ cup;

– Salt — 1 pinch.

Preparation:

Pour the cottage cheese into a large deep bowl. Rub it through a fine sieve if necessary.

Add the chicken egg.

Add salt, sugar and sifted flour in the specified quantities.

Knead everything until a homogeneous dough is formed.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and continue kneading with your hands.

Form sausages of equal thickness from the resulting dough.

Cut them into small squares.

Dip the blanks in boiling water for 3–5 minutes.

30. Shashlik

Who doesn’t like to fry shashlik in the summer at the dacha? Of course, every cook has his own signature recipe for this Caucasian dish depending on the type and kind of meat and mood: someone likes to marinate in kefir, someone in mayonnaise, and someone even in honey. In restaurants, shashlik is usually served with lavash, greens and adjika.

Ingredients:

– 1500 grams of pork;

– 400-450 ml of kefir (fat content – 2.5%);

– ground pepper;

– salt;

– kebab seasoning.

Preparation:

Rinse the meat, cut it into cubes and put it in a shallow bowl.

Pour kefir over the meat, add pepper and salt.

Sprinkle with barbecue seasoning and stir.

Put the pork in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

Ideally, it is better to marinate the meat in the evening, and it will be ready in the morning.

31. Kvass

Who among us hasn’t made this drink at home from bread crusts? In the summer heat, kvass is a great refresher and invigorator, like no lemonade or cola.

Ingredients:

– water — 2.5 l;

– rye bread — 300 g;

– sugar — 40 g;

– raisins — 50 g.

Preparation:

Cut the bread into small pieces and dry in the oven until golden brown.

Put the crackers into a three-liter dry jar, add sugar and raisins.

Pour in warm boiled water, stir gently.

Cover with gauze and leave in a warm place for 48–72 hours.

After this time, strain the kvass, pour into bottles and store in the refrigerator.

32. Tort «Ptich’ye moloko»

For the crust: 4 yolks, 70 g sugar, 70 g butter at room temperature, 100 g flour, 0.5 tsp baking powder.

For the soufflé: 4 egg whites, 100 g butter at room temperature, 50 g condensed milk, 270 g sugar, 100 ml water, 7 g agar (900).

For the ganache: 70 g dark chocolate, 70 g heavy cream.

Preparation:

For the crust: beat the yolks with sugar, add butter at room temperature, flour and baking powder, knead the dough. Bake the crust.

For the soufflé: soak agar-agar in water, bring to a boil, add sugar and glucose syrup, cook over medium heat to a temperature of 110 degrees. When the syrup is ready, remove from the stove and let cool slightly (to 80-85 degrees). In a bowl, beat the egg white and lemon juice until the whole mass turns into foam. Pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites in a thin stream, waiting for confident peaks. Gradually add the mixture of butter and condensed milk.

For the ganache: bring the heavy cream to a boil, pour into a measuring cup with dark chocolate and stir well with a silicone spatula.

Put the biscuit in the ring, put a third of the mass and distribute well in the ring. Put in the rest and quickly smooth the top with a spatula. Put in the refrigerator for 5-6 hours.

For the ganache: bring the heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan, pour into a measuring cup with dark chocolate and stir well.

33. Plombir

Plombir ice cream came to Russian cuisine from France, and industrial production began in the early Soviet years. According to GOST standards, this ice cream had to contain the highest percentage of milk fat and be made from whole milk or cream. Plombir is produced both as a block and in a waffle cone, but the most delicious is in chocolate glaze.

Ingredients:

– 33% cream — 250 milliliters;

– condensed milk — 150 grams;

– mint, toppings for decoration.

Step-by-step recipe:

Take the chilled cream and pour it into a deep bowl. Start whipping the cream with a mixer, first at low speed, and then gradually increasing it. Whip until the mass becomes thick.

Add condensed milk (also cold) to the cream and continue whipping until the ingredients are combined (no more than 1 minute).

Transfer the resulting mass into a container and knock it on the table several times – this will remove excess air and evenly distribute the ice cream in the container. Close the lid.

Put the container with ice cream in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

After this time, take it out and mix the mass well – this is necessary for the ice cream to freeze evenly and correctly.

Put the ice cream back in the freezer. For the first 2-3 hours, periodically take it out and stir the ice cream a few more times.

After 6-8 hours, the ice cream will be completely ready.

Decorate the ice cream with a sprig of mint, jam or syrup.

34. Fried potatoes with mushrooms

If you think that nothing in the world is perfect, remember the taste of fried potatoes with mushrooms. Any mushrooms will do – chanterelles, milk mushrooms, champignons. And the best is to eat them straight from the frying pan!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

– potatoes — 500 g;

– porcini mushrooms — 500 g;

– onions — 100 g;

– sunflower oil — 100 ml;

– salt — to taste;

– ground black pepper — to taste.

Preparation:

Clean fresh porcini mushrooms from leaves and dirt, sort and rinse several times in cold water. If you are using dried mushrooms, place them in a bowl, cover with water and leave for at least 30 minutes. After soaking, rinse the mushrooms thoroughly under cold water and squeeze out excess moisture.

Boil the mushrooms in a saucepan for 20–25 minutes. Be sure to remove the foam that appears on the surface of the water with a slotted spoon. Throw the finished mushrooms in a colander, rinse with cold water and let the water drain.

Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them into strips and leave them in water for 15-20 minutes to release the starch. This will help the potatoes keep their shape when frying and not stick to the bottom and sides of the pan.

Cut the boiled porcini mushrooms into cubes. Do not cut them too finely, as the mushrooms will noticeably decrease in size during frying. You can cut the stems of the mushrooms more finely – they are denser.

Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan and put the mushrooms and onions in it. Reduce the heat and cook the mushrooms and onions for about 5 minutes, until the onions become soft and translucent. Then transfer the mushrooms and onions to a deep plate.

Drain the potatoes. Add a little more oil to the frying pan and put the potatoes in it. Fry, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula, until golden brown.

When the potatoes are almost ready, add the mushrooms fried with onions. To let the potatoes absorb the mushroom aroma, cook everything together for a few more minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir gently, cover the pan with a lid and turn off the heat. Let the potatoes and mushrooms sit for literally 5 minutes and serve.

35. Tula gingerbread

The famous gingerbread has been known since the end of the 17th century. It comes in different shapes and weights, but the most common type is a “tile” with a glazed inscription on top. Inside is jam or condensed milk.

Ingredients for gingerbread dough:

honey – 150 g;

eggs – 2 pcs.;

butter – 80 g;

sugar – 120 g;

ground cinnamon – 2 tsp;

soda – 1 level tsp;

flour – 300 g (+ about 100 g for kneading).

For the filling: thick jam – about 200 g.

For the glaze: milk – 2 tbsp; powdered sugar – 4 tbsp.

Preparation:

Whisk the eggs, combine the white and yolk. Choose a heat-resistant dish – later the dough will be cooked in a “water bath”.

Add butter, sugar and honey to the egg mixture, throw in the soda. To enhance the aroma, add spicy cinnamon.

Place the bowl with the ingredients on a suitable sized saucepan with water. Bring the liquid in the lower container to a boil beforehand.

Stir constantly until the butter melts, the sugar crystals dissolve, and a homogeneous liquid mass is obtained.

Gradually add flour in small portions. Stir with a spoon or whisk until all dry areas are dissolved.

Remove the honey dough from the heat, spoon the hot mass onto a floured work surface. Let it cool for a few minutes.

When the dough becomes warm, begin actively kneading it with your hands. Add flour as needed. The result should be a smooth, pliable mass that feels like soft plasticine.

Divide the dough into two equal parts. Roll one of them out on a sheet of parchment paper into a rectangular layer about 5 mm thick. If necessary, sprinkle the rolling pin with flour.

Spread the jam in an even layer, leaving a little space around the edges. The filling must be thick so that it does not spread over the dough.

Roll out the remaining dough into a rectangular layer, place it on the jam layer, completely covering the filling, and press lightly. Trim the edges of the gingerbread with a curly knife or a regular knife.

Transfer the product to a suitable baking dish or baking sheet together with the parchment paper.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. The product should increase in size and become golden brown.

Remove the finished baked goods from the oven and immediately begin preparing the glaze. Mix milk with powdered sugar, bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes.

36. Herring under a fur coat

A favorite Russian salad that many foreigners are horrified by. Herring with boiled beets? Yes! And let’s add carrots, potatoes, onions, eggs and more mayonnaise.

Ingredients (for 8 servings):

– fresh salted herring — 1 pc. (about 400 g);

– carrots — 2 pcs.;

– beetroot — 1 pc. (large) or 2 pcs. (medium);

– potatoes — 2–3 pcs.;

– onion — 1 pc. (large onion) or 2–3 pcs. (small);

– Provencal mayonnaise — 1 pc. (150–200 g);

– chicken egg — 2–3 pcs.;

– salt — to taste.

Preparation:

Boil potatoes, beets and carrots in their skins (half an hour to an hour).

Cut the herring — separate the fillet from the bones, cut into small cubes.

When the eggs and vegetables are cooked, cool and peel them.

Cut the onion into medium-small pieces.

Lay out the layers: first – grated potatoes, grease with mayonnaise (can be in the form of a net). Then – the second layer – herring. Onions on top of the herring. The fourth layer – mash the boiled eggs with a fork. The fifth – carrots. The sixth – again potatoes. The last layer is beets.

Put the salad in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to soak.

Before serving, garnish with grated egg and finely chopped herbs (dill, parsley, celery).

37. Kholodets

This popular snack on the holiday table is nothing more than a very thick meat broth with pieces of meat, sometimes carrots, which has turned into jelly due to cooling. Kholodets is eaten with horseradish or mustard.

Prepare the meat: chop the cleaned pork legs, beef shank and brisket into large pieces. Rinse and soak in cold water for several hours.

Drain the water and rinse the meat again. Place everything in a saucepan, fill with cold water so that it is 5 cm above the meat.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 3 hours under a lid, periodically skimming off the foam that forms.

Peel the onion and carrot, put the vegetables in the saucepan where the meat is boiling. Cook for another half hour. Salt to taste. Add peppercorns and bay leaf. Cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, take out the pork legs, beef shank, brisket and carrots. Place on a plate and let cool.

Strain the broth and discard the remaining ingredients: bay leaf, pepper and onion have already served their purpose. Add only garlic, passed through a press, it will give additional flavor.

Separate the meat from the bone, cut into small pieces. Carrots – into circles. Be sure to ensure that small bones do not get into the dish, they can harm your teeth.

Take a mold. This can be a regular container, but it is better to use a silicone cake mold, because for a New Year’s dish, not only the taste is important, but also the appearance.

Put the carrots on the bottom of the mold, then the chopped meat. Pour in the broth and put in the refrigerator overnight. Serve with mustard or horseradish.

38. Olivier

A salad that is a must-have for any New Year’s (or other) feast in Russia and post-Soviet countries. Soviet cooks replaced the hazel grouse in the bourgeois recipe with “Doctor’s” sausage, capers with canned peas, and “Provencal” sauce with mayonnaise, and created the most popular salad.

Ingredients:

– potatoes — 4–5 pcs.;

– carrots — 2 pcs.;

– eggs — 4 pcs.;

– boiled sausage — 300 g;

– pickled cucumbers — 3–4 pcs.;

– canned green peas — 1 can;

– mayonnaise — 150–200 g;

– salt, pepper — to taste.

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes and carrots in their skins until tender, then cool and peel.

Peel and chop the boiled eggs as well.

Cut the sausage and pickles into small cubes.

Combine all ingredients in a deep bowl, add drained canned peas.

Dress the salad with mayonnaise, add salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well and let sit in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to allow all the flavors to combine.

39. Makarony po-flotski

Pasta with minced meat has long been a favorite home dish for many families. In the USSR, “navy-style pasta” became widespread after the end of World War II, when sailors returned home and told about the dish they often ate while on duty.

Ingredients:

• pasta in the form of tubes – 400 g;
• minced meat – 350 g;
• onions;
• salt;
• vegetable oil.

Preparation:

Boil the pasta in a saucepan with water, after boiling add salt to taste.

Throw the pasta in a colander and rinse under running water.

Peel the onion, wash and cut into small cubes.

Mix the onion with the minced meat, add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour vegetable oil into the frying pan and heat well over high heat.

Send the minced meat to the frying pan and fry until done.

Add the pasta to the finished minced meat, reduce the heat to medium and fry for a few more minutes.

40. Napoleon cake

The Russian version of the thousand-layer cake appeared in 1912, when the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of the victory over Napoleon. It is easily made from puff pastry and custard (or butter cream). The main thing is to let the layers soak for at least a night.

Ingredients for 12 servings:

For the cream:

• sugar – 0.5 cups;
• flour – 4 tbsp;
• vanilla sugar – 1 tsp;
• milk – 2.5 cups;
• egg – 1 pc.

For the dough:

• flour – 500 g;
• drinking water – 180 ml;
• vinegar – 1 tbsp;
• butter – 250 g.

Preparation:

Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and rub with sifted flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Mix water with vinegar, pour in a thin stream into the flour mixture. Knead a smooth dough, wrap it in cling film and place in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 equal parts. Place 1 piece of dough between 2 sheets of parchment and roll out into a circle 0.5 cm thick; roll out the rest of the dough in the same way. Bake the cakes separately in an oven preheated to 190 ° C, for 20 minutes each. Let cool. Trim the edges, save the crumbs.

Make the custard for the Napoleon cake. Boil 1.5 cups of milk with sugar. Beat the remaining milk with the egg and flour with a mixer until the mass has a uniform consistency.

Carefully add the resulting egg mixture to the boiling milk. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, for 7-8 minutes, until the cream thickens. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Assemble the Napoleon cake. To do this, grease the cooled cakes with the resulting custard and stack them on top of each other. Press lightly. Place the Napoleon cake in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle the Napoleon cake with crumbs left over from the layers. If desired, the dessert can be decorated with fresh berries, chocolate figurines or almond petals.

41. Syrniki

Cheesecakes with sour cream or jam are the perfect breakfast for all times! Cottage cheese as the main ingredient makes them especially healthy and delicate in texture.

Ingredients:

– homemade granular cottage cheese — 350 g;

– egg — 1 pc.;

– sugar — 4 tsp;

– vanilla sugar — 5 g;

– flour — 4–5 tbsp.

Preparation:

Put the cottage cheese through a sieve for a more uniform and delicate consistency.

Put it into a bowl, add the egg, mix.

Add regular and vanilla sugar, mix all the ingredients again.

Sift the flour, put it into a bowl with the curd mass and mix the dough with a spoon.

Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

Line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Form balls of any size from the dough.

Place the syrniki on paper and place the baking tray in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Bake until done and lightly browned.

Sprinkle the finished syrniki with vanilla sugar to taste and serve warm for breakfast or afternoon snack.

42. Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff was invented by a French chef who served Count Alexander Stroganov. Beef fillet is cut into small pieces, breaded in flour, quickly fried with onions, and then stewed with a sauce of sour cream and tomato sauce for about an hour. Pickles and mushrooms are added to the dish and it is served with mashed potatoes or rice as a side dish.

Ingredients:

• Beef — 500 g;
• Onion — 1 pc.;
• Tomato paste — 1 tbsp.;
• Wheat flour — 1 tbsp.;
• Sour cream — 150 g;
• Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp.;
• Salt, pepper — to taste.

Preparation:

Wash the beef well and dry it with paper towels or napkins, then cut it into very thin strips.

Heat the frying pan with vegetable oil and fry the meat over high heat until lightly golden. Place on a plate to cool.

Cut the onion into half rings. Fry in the same frying pan as the beef. When the onion becomes transparent, add the meat and flour to it. Mix everything.

Add tomato paste and sour cream to the beef stroganoff. Salt and pepper. Stir and pour in a small amount of water – half a glass will be enough. The liquid should almost completely cover the meat.

Turn on low heat. Cover the pan with beef and simmer the meat until done. It can be determined by the tenderness of the beef and the thickness of the sauce. The meat should be very easy to pierce, and the sour cream sauce should be quite thick.

You can serve beef stroganoff with any side dish: potatoes, pasta, rice or buckwheat.

43. Shchi

The pillar of Russian cuisine is cabbage soup with the name “shchi” that is unpronounceable for foreigners. It is prepared from both sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, and in some regions (primarily in the cities of the modern Golden Ring) frozen shchi was common in winter – something like a semi-finished product that allowed you to quickly prepare soup if necessary.

Ingredients:

– meat — 500 grams;

– white cabbage — 500 grams;

– carrots — 1 piece;

– onions — 1–2 pieces;

– potatoes — 2 pieces;

– tomato paste — 1 tbsp;

– vegetable oil — 2 tbsp;

– greens — 0.5 bunch;

– bay leaf — 1–2 pieces;

– sour cream — 100 grams;

– garlic — 2–4 cloves;

– ground black pepper — 1 pinch;

– salt — 0.5–1 tbsp.

Preparation:

Rinse the meat, place in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil, periodically skimming off the surface. Then reduce heat and cook for an hour. Remove the meat, chop and return it.

Peel the onion and carrot. Chop the onion finely and grate the carrot.

Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a hot frying pan and fry the onion until soft. Add the carrots, sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste and simmer everything together for 5-7 minutes.

Peel the potatoes, cut into cubes, chop the cabbage and add the vegetables to the broth. Bring to a boil again.

Add the fried vegetables to the soup and cook for 20 minutes. Then grind the salt with garlic, add to the soup, pepper, add the bay leaf.

Finely chop the greens. Add the greens to the soup and let it sit for 10 minutes under the lid.

44. Pancakes

Russian pancakes are baked from wheat yeast dough, and the number of fillings for them is countless. Pancakes are eaten with caviar, mushrooms, sour cream and jam. A real pancake feast is arranged during Maslenitsa week in anticipation of the arrival of spring.

Ingredients:

• wheat flour — 1 cup (or 130 grams);
• milk — 1.5 cups (300 ml);
• eggs — 3 pieces;
• sugar — 1.5 tbsp;
• salt — 0.5 tsp;
• butter — 40 grams.

Preparation:

Beat eggs in a bowl, add sugar and salt. Whisk until salt and sugar dissolve.

Pour in milk and whisk to mix.

Pour in flour and mix until smooth. The dough should be quite liquid, without lumps of flour. Leave the dough for 20 minutes.

Melt butter and cool slightly, it should not be hot. Pour butter into the dough and whisk to mix thoroughly.

Heat a greased frying pan well. Pour almost a full ladle of batter.

When one side of the pancake is browned, turn it over and fry the other side.

Stack the pancakes one on top of the other, you can spread hot pancakes with butter.

45. Pel’meni

The most Russian dish you can think of! Wrap the meat in dough, fasten it in the shape of an “ear” and freeze it. By the way, many Russian regions have their own versions of pelmeni: in Siberia, the mince is made from beef and pork, in the Urals, fish filling is popular, and in the north, you can find pelmeni made from game.

Ingredients:

For the dough: wheat flour – 500 g, chicken eggs – 2 pcs., water at room temperature, salt – 1/3 tsp.

For the minced meat: beef – 370 g, pork – 370 g, onion – 1 pc., cold water – 1/3 cup, salt – 10 g, freshly ground black pepper.

For serving: butter, freshly ground black pepper.

Preparation:

Cut the meat and onion into pieces, mince together with the onion.

Salt, pepper, pour in water in small portions, mix the minced meat thoroughly after each addition of water. The water should be absorbed into the meat – the minced meat will not be liquid.

Cover the bowl with minced meat with cling film and put it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Sift the flour through a sieve into a mound on the work surface, make a small depression in the center.

Break the eggs into a glass or mug, mix lightly with a fork and add enough water so that the total volume of liquid is 250 ml.

Pour the eggs with water into the depression in the flour mound, add salt and begin to gently knead the dough with a fork, gradually adding flour from the sides of the “crater”.

When all the liquid is mixed, begin to knead the dough with your hands, sprinkling it with a little flour until it becomes smooth and elastic. This may take about 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into a ball, cover with a bowl, leave for 30 minutes – this will make it more elastic.

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface into a thin layer. Using a glass, cut out circles with a diameter of 5 cm. Put the filling on the dough and pinch the edges of the dumplings.

Boil the dumplings in a large amount of salted boiling water for 5 minutes after they float to the surface. Transfer the dumplings with a slotted spoon to a colander, and then to a plate. Add butter and mix gently. Serve, sprinkled with black pepper.

46. Borsch

The most famous soup in Russia (and in other countries populated by Slavs) has been prepared since time immemorial, and each region has its own recipes. Each is considered canonical. Some add tomatoes to the borscht, some beans, some potatoes, and some cook it without meat at all. In any case, for many Russians, this dish is almost a daily one.

Ingredients:

For the broth: 1½–2 l of water, 400–500 g of pork or beef on the bone.

For frying: 2 small beets, 1 medium carrot, 3 medium onions, 4–5 tablespoons of vegetable oil, a pinch of citric acid, a little table vinegar or ½ lemon, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.

For borscht: 300 g of fresh white cabbage, 4 medium potatoes, salt to taste, 1–2 dried bay leaves, herbs to taste, 1 clove of garlic (optional), a pinch of ground cloves (optional), a pinch of ground black pepper (optional).

Preparation:

Boil the broth. Pour cold water into a saucepan, add the meat and place on medium heat. Skim off any foam before boiling. When the liquid boils, cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer for an hour and a half.

Make the sauté. Wash and peel the beets, carrots and onions. Grate the beets on a coarse grater and the carrots on a medium grater. Cut the onion into small cubes. Pour oil into a frying pan and turn on medium heat. Fry the onions and carrots, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Then add the beets. Add citric acid, vinegar or lemon juice. Cook the sauté for another 5 minutes. Then add the tomato paste, stir and leave on the heat for another 5–7 minutes.

Assemble the borscht. When the broth is cooked, remove the meat. While it is cooling, add the shredded cabbage to the saucepan. After 5-10 minutes, add the potatoes cut into strips or cubes. While the potatoes are cooking, separate the meat from the bone and cut into cubes. Return it to the soup. Salt to taste. Add the fried vegetables and stir. Throw in the bay leaf and finely chopped herbs. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for another 5-7 minutes. For flavor, you can add some chopped garlic, ground cloves or black pepper to the pan. Leave the borscht to infuse under the lid for 5-10 minutes.